2026 Spartan Palm Beach Race Review

2026 Spartan Palm Beach Race Review 

By OCR Kings Reporter At Large 

David Best

The Palm Beaches......also known as “The Island or “The Gold Coast. Distinctions include its upscale resorts, beautiful beaches as well as being a winter retreat for the rich and famous. It's also home to an array of celebrities, athletes, business moguls and political figures. Notable residents include Rod Stewart, Michael Jordan, Bill Gates, Sylvester Stallone, Tommy Hilfiger, The Kennedy Family, as well as Serena Williams, Tiger Woods  AKA Mario Andretti and the BIG KAHUNA himself.....President Donald Trump. The Spartan Palm Beaches Race weekend also calls this its home each March and the latest installment was the weekend of March 28 - 29 at the Sunset Cove Amphitheater in Boca Raton, Fl. This race weekend has been held here since 2019 and with participation numbers of 1655 open racers on Saturday and 600 open racers on Sunday, this venue will stay on the Spartan schedule for many years to come. They also had the elite and age group as well as adoubles category to keep even the most hardened Spartan racer satisfied.

This is a Sprint only event....but have no fear....this is the Palm Beaches!!! After your Sprint race is over, there are two lakes nearby as well as a 27 hole golf course on site for your recreational enjoyment. You also have access to the beautiful sandy beaches of South Florida for all your sun & fun needs and are a mere 30 minute drive from the venue. Hotel & restaurants abound within minutes of the venue for your convenience. And speaking of convenience, the venue is nestled between two major airports as well as two major highways. The airports are the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport and the other is the soon to be renamed  Orange Man Bad (Donald J Trump) International Airport AKA Palm Beach International Airport. The two highways are I-95 and the other is the Florida Turnpike. This is truly a very convenient venue to travel to. I drive to this venue from the Sebring, Florida area (Central Florida Trifecta Weekend Venue) and it takes me about 2 ½ hours to complete the trip.    

Weekend Race Review

This race weekend was part of the U.S. National Series South Division which is only another reason make this venue a must visit. There were a total of 19 obstacles featured that included Hurdles, 4 ft Over Walls, a venue specific Cliff Climb with ropes, Monkey Bars, Bucket Carry, Barbed Wire Crawl, 6ft Wall, Vertical Cargo, a combo Sandbag Carry to Plate Drag, place the bag in the sled, drag to completion, remove the bag & carry the bag back to the bin, Spear Throw, Z Wall, Herc Hoist, Slip Wall, Atlas Carry, Chain Carry, Rope Climb, Multi-Rig and end with A- Frame Cargo. There was no fire jump this year as well as last year due to the lack of rain in this part of Florida. A burn ban was placed in effect until the middle of April....so maybe next year. The weather on Saturday was hot and humid even for the end of March in south Florida. We did receive an occasional gift from the Spartan Gods in the form of a beautiful breeze coming from the Atlantic Ocean beaches and it did revive and revitalize you. I heard many a Spartan post race say they thought this would be easy since this venue is “fast & flat” …......but I addressed this in another race review …....Spartan Race speaking in code again!!!! There is nothing we do in Spartan Race that is easy and when you lose your concentration and take the race for granted....THE SPARTAN GODS WILL QUICKLY PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE AND SHOW YOU NO MERCY!!!!! 

This venue is deceptive as the heat and humidity as well as the placement of and volume of certain obstacles (weighted carries) will zap even the most seasoned of Spartans. The weather on Sunday was overcast and not as brutally hot, but the Spartan Gods weren't being merciful, just wanting to torture us in a different way. They brought the rain!!!! The early morning heats were but a mere drizzle, which made the Monkey Bars & Milti-Rig quite changeling. But the later heats weren't so lucky. The weather was so bad that the race director combined all remaining heats to get them on course so they could complete their race before the real bad weather came in and it did. 

I'm so glad I ran first thing in the morning so I didn't have to face the weather as well as the inexperienced Sprint racers on course. I ran n the open race category on Saturday and it only reinforced my hatred for the open Sprint races. I know I was one of those racers that didn't know what I was doing when I started out.....but at least I did my research via OCR Kings to at least know the basics. The vast majority of new racers  have no idea what they're doing and they don't do the research. A case in point....I was at Herc Hoist and a young racer got his bag to the top and just let it go screaming back to earth before making impact. The volunteer then told him of his error and his response was “Well, There Are No Rules Posted”. The volunteer then informed him that another volunteer on the other side of Herc Hoist kept repeating the rules about dropped bags being a fail and to lower the bag back to earth in a controlled fashion. I've commented on other reviews about the two things that piss me off that other racers do, drop the bag at Herc Hoist and walk across the handholds on Olympus. I ended up running in the age group competitive on Sunday and while I didn't qualify for a podium spot , I didn't have to hear the thumping of bags at Herc Hoist or wait in line at Bucket Carry while the inexperienced Spartan racers figured out their footing down hill while carrying their bucket or dodge the dropped buckets the newbie Spartans left on the course. 

But I did find one benefit from running age group competitive... photos!!!!! On Saturday, I had a total of 22 photos taken of me on course......on Sunday.....122!!!!! I'm a sloth compared to the others running in age group competitive, So by the time I get to the obstacle, I'm the only one there and the photographers only have one racer to shoot....ME!!!! LOL!!!!! I outsmarted the Spartan Gods once again!!!! 

Final Thoughts & Recommendations

I just love this race weekend as it is within driving distance of home as well as it being a relaxing Sprint only event. Race, hit the beach, grab a grouper sandwich and just have fun!!!! So, until my next race review, this is your OCR Kings reporter at large, David Best, bringing you all the “Best” Spartan Offers us!!

 2026 Spartan Atlanta Race Review 

 By OCR Kings Reporter At Large 

 David Best

Atlanta.....also known as “The ATL”, Hot 'Lanta or simply the “Big Peach”......but we Spartans know this as the first race of the season where we will be truly tested and tested we were in this seasons installment. Itwas held the weekend of March 14-15 2026 at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, Georgia. This venue has long been a Spartan staple and with attendance numbers of 1062 open Beast racers and 1467 open Sprint racers on Saturday as well as 1442 open Super racers and 912 open Sprint racers on Sunday, it should continue to do so for many  more seasons. Spartan has also added a new category with doubles racing. They offer this in all three race lengths and allow two racers to sign up for one Spartan Race together to compete in a collaborative, team based format. I think it's a great idea and it introduces more people to the Spartan lifestyle aka “The Spartan Addiction”!!!!!

The venue and Conyers itself lies about 25 miles from Atlanta and the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. It's usually about a 40 minute drive, but with all the road construction we seem to be running into around the country these day, allow about an hour travel time. There is a plethora of  hotel and dining options and Spartans can even stay at a hotel that is conveniently located across the street from the venue. I stayed more in town where I was in walking distance of more dining options. 
  

                                     Obstacle and Race Review 

After dealing with flat race venues in SoCal and Jacksonville earlier in this race season, now come the rolling hills and mud of Atlanta. They haven't had the rain this year as they've had in years past, so the course itself wasn't quite as muddy, but it wasn't by any means a clean race. One young first time Atlanta Spartan racer commented to me about how muddy the race was and I looked at him and said “You should have been here the last three years”!!! LOL!!!! There were a total of 34 obstacles for the Spartan faithful to overcome and they are as follows: 4 Ft. Over Walls, Hurdles, Inverted Wall, Monkey Bars, 6 Ft Wall, Helix, 7 Ft Wall, Bender, Twister, Stairway To Sparta, Chain Carry, Cliff Climb, Bucket Carry, Multi-Rig, Barbed Wire Crawl, Atlas Carry, Z Wall, Spear Throw, Barbed Wire Crawl #2, Herc Hoist, Tyrolean Traverse, Irish Tables, 8 Ft Wall, Beater, Armer, Bridge, Sandbag Carry, Barbed Wire Crawl #3, Plate Drag, Vertical Cargo, Rope Climb, Slip Wall, A-Frame Cargo and the Fire Jump. 

I was surprised that Olympus was not an included obstacle this year and I guess the highlighted obstacles at the event this season would be the cliff climb (A specific obstacle at this venue), barbed wire crawl #1 that included rolling mud that went into Atlas Carry then into Z Wall. Z Wall was almost undo able as your shoes were caked with mud which made footing almost impossible. We did have a combination obstacle in sandbag carry into barbed wire crawl #3 and back to the beginning to drop your bag. They did change up the course this season which did limit the mud a bit, but replaced that with more rolling hills and a little longer course length.  I did like the change of scenery and we only had to cross a busy road on the Beast course unlike having to cross that road for both the Beast and Super Courses in prior seasons. The new course layout included us traversing a trail under a bridge and into a large meadow that had Bender and Twister back to back waiting to foil the toughest of Spartans. The weather on Saturday was quite nippy in the morning, which made the Monkey Bars quite changeling with cold, wet hands. But, once the sun came up, it became a beautiful day for racing with temperatures in the mid 70's.
   

Sunday was a bit warmer in the morning, but we had to battle drizzling rain from mid-morning on and what made it really fun was the half mile walk we had from the venue to the parking area. We know this as the “Spartan Death March” and after a Trifecta Weekend battling both course and the elements, it is a Death March!!! But I used the rain for an additional wash and changed for my trip to the airport once I returned to the car. 

 

      My Trip Home and Final Thoughts  on This Atlanta Race Weekend

I live in Florida and I like the Atlanta venue as it's a quick 90 minute flight to Atlanta from Orlando. I arrived at the airport Sunday afternoon for my 6:40 flight to Orlando, only to find out it had been delayed due to weather and was told we were to leave at 10:00, then midnight and ultimately having my flight canceled. I then had to spent the night at the Atlanta airport. In the morning, I asked the airline what was the quickest way back to Orlando and they responded by flying Raleigh-Durham, NC and then a flight to Orlando. So I did that and flew to Raleigh-Durham. Once there I found that all flights to Orlando were delayed, so I spent my Monday at the airport waiting. About 10:00 that evening, all flights were canceled to Orlando and I wasn't about to spend another night in the airport. So I caught a shuttle to a nearby hotel, got a room, a hot shower and some well deserved sleep. I usually don't sleep well in hotels, but had no problem that night. Up in the morning, breakfast and back to the airport where I saw my flight was delayed once again. I was to fly out at 5:30 that afternoon, but didn't fly out until 12:50 AM on Wednesday morning. I Finally arrived back home at 4:30 AM where my wife was waiting for me at the front door with a cup of coffee and a heartfelt “Welcome Home”........... FINALLY!!!! 

This wasn't the “Best” of race weekends for me and as I was waiting for my flight to Atlanta on Friday morning, I received a call from my wife to tell me that my mother had lost her battle with cancer. And while it's a blessing she's longer in pain, the void it's created in me will never be filled. I did welcome the distraction this race weekend provided me as well as the support all my Spartan brothers and sisters showed me. This is a great venue for Spartan, but the only recommendation I could make is to move it from the “Spring Break” time frame as it seems every time I attend this race, I run into travel problems. I was able to visit the venue on Friday before the race and met another Spartan named Phil. And guess what.....he is an OCR Kings subscriber!!! So Phil, here is your shout out and hope you had a fantastic race weekend!!!! 

              An Update On The Quest For The Spartan Spear  

                     AKA The Quest That Never Was!!!! 

Last season,  I decided to try to complete 13 Trifectas in a Spartan season to achieve the prize of a Spartan spear. Upon completing my 13^th Trifecta in Central Florida in December, I contacted Spartan concerning my prize for winning my war. I received a “What are you talking about” from customer service and was told to contact Spartan Race Greece customer service and I did multiple times with no response. I finally sent an Email to Joe De Sena personally and did receive a response from him. He referred me to Yara Yara Yara. She is a Spartan Race Goddess and did complete 52 Trifectas last season worldwide. She informed me that to receive a spear, I would have had to have 13 Trifectas under my belt by the Trifecta World Championship in West Virginia. I did the math and found I would have had to participate in every U.S. held Trifecta weekend between SoCal and the World Championship held 9/5-9/8 excluding the Hawaii Trifecta Weekend. For most people, an impossible task. I then asked why have any Trifecta weekends after the championship if they don't count for this? And I never received a response. The closest I came to the Spartan Spear was at the World Championship where I was able to hold one and snap a few photos.

So use my experience as a lesson if you ever want to set forth on you own quest for the Spartan spear and immortality. So until my next report from he Palm Beach race weekend, this is your OCR Kings reported at large, David Best, bringing you all the “BEST” Spartan offers us!!!!!  

 

Spartan Race Giveaway 2026

As Spartan Race Brand Ambassadors, Spartan gave us free race codes which we want to share with you! Here's how to get yours: Send us your video, get a FREE Spartan Race! Use this form to submit your video(s) https://forms.gle/PwEmt8DB198tudCx5. One code per video, no more than 5 videos/5 race codes to any one person, while supplies last. Terms apply, good for US races only. Videos should be 1min or less, oriented 9:16 (portrait), and be sure to include our catch phrase, "Train Hard, Have Fun" or a Spartan "AROO" If we select your video, we’ll post it on our channel and send you a code for a free race. All giveaway codes are one time use only and expire 12/31/2026. Taxes and add on’s are not included. Spartan Race Codes are good for: - Sprint/Stadion - Super - Beast - Ultra - Trail 10K What to Expect at Your First Spartan Race - https://youtu.be/yZ9q6T98Frk Spartan Race Training - Tips For Beginners - https://youtu.be/nM57W5_RB5M What to Expect at Your First Spartan Race Super - https://youtu.be/UiuSSZfpXsk Don't miss out, this is how to do Spartan Race for free. Hope to see you out on the course. Thank you for watching OCR Kings, and please consider subscribing!

 

Spartan Race Arizona Map - Valentine's Day Extravaganza 2026

Spartan Race Arizona 2026. There a NEW obstacle! It's certainly new to us. Check out the course and map review of the 2026 Arizona Spartan Race Valentine's Day couples' weekend, at Fort McDowell, AZ. Also known as the Arizona Spartan Event Weekend. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE!! Links below: Run Spartan Race for FREE! Send us a short video of yourself running, working out, or getting ready for an event and we'll send you a code for a free race. Videos should be 1min or less, oriented 9:16 (portrait), and be sure to include Spartan catch phrase, "AROO!" If your video is 50MB or smaller, email it to us at ocrkings@Ifgmail.com. If your video is bigger than 50MB click this link https://forms.gle/PwEmt8DB198tudCx5, fill out the form and submit your video. If we select your video, we’ll post it on our channel and send you a code for a free race. All giveaway codes are one time use only and expire 12/31/2026. Taxes and add ons are not included. Spartan Race Codes are good for:

• Sprint
• Super
• Beast
• Ultra
• Trail 10K

Other Spartan race links: What to Expect at Your First Spartan Race Super:    • What to Expect at Your First Spartan Race ...   Save 30% on your next Spartan Race OCR or Trail: OCRKINGS-2026

Spartan Race Giveaway Winner ULTRA #spartanrace #ultra #giveaway

Spartan Race Giveaway Winner ULTRA

Spartan Race free code winner! Thanks for your video. Congrats and good luck at your Ultra! Send us YOUR video for a chance to receive a code for a FREE #spartanrace Instructions are in the video description. Check it out! #aroo #spartan #ocrkings #giveaway

Race Review - Spartan Race SoCal 2026

Race Review – Spartan Race SoCal 2026. An after action, SITREP of the SoCal Spartan Race Trifecta Weekend in Perris, CA on January 24 and 25, 2026 as run by our friend Tom at SHANK GYM. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE!! Links below: Check out Tom's full review on shankgym.com here: https://www.shankgym.com/post/spartan... Check out the Shank Expeditions YouTube channel:    / @shankgym   Save 30% on your next Spartan Race OCR or Trail with discount code: OCRKINGS-2026 Send us your video and get a code for a free Spartan Race! Learn more here:    • Spartan Race: Free Race Giveaway! #spartan...  

Spartan Race: Free Race Giveaway! #spartan #giveaway #free

Spartan Race gave us free race codes for 2026 to share with you for! Here's what to do: Send us a short video of yourself running, working out, or getting ready for an event. Videos should be 1min or less, oriented 9:16 (portrait), and be sure to include Spartan catch phrase, "AROO!" If your video is 50MB or smaller, email it to us at ocrkings@Ifgmail.com. If your video is bigger than 50MB click this link https://forms.gle/PwEmt8DB198tudCx5, fill out the form and submit your video. If we select your video, we’ll post it on our channel and send you a code for a free race. All giveaway codes are one time use only and expire 12/31/2026. Taxes and add ons are not included. Spartan Race Codes are good for:

• Sprint
• Super
• Beast
• Ultra
• Trail 10K

Snow Storm: Camp Stove First Time Fire Lighting

Snow Storm: Camp Stove First Time Fire Lighting. How to light a fire in a survival bushcraft camp stove prepping for heavy snow. Satisfying and warm. Links below and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE!! Check out some of our other hot tent winter camping videos: Hot Tent Winter Camping Heavy Snow Storm -    • Hot Tent Winter Camping Heavy Snow Storm    Hot Tent Winter Camping (Snow Storm) -    • Hot Tent Winter Camping (Snow Storm)   Hot Tent Snow Camping Stove Burning ASMR -    • Hot Tent Snow Camping Stove Burning ASMR   #snowcamp #snowstorm #satisfying

Spartan Race SoCal 2026 - New Obstacle?

Spartan Race SoCal 2026. Is there a NEW obstacle? Find out in this course and map review of the 2026 SoCal Spartan Trifecta Weekend, at Lake Perris State Recreation Area in Perris CA. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE!! Links below: Spartan Race SoCal (All Obstacles):    • Spartan Race Sprint 2020 (All Obstacles)   What to Expect at Your First Spartan Race Super:    • What to Expect at Your First Spartan Race ...   Check out Tom's Shank Gym Expeditions channel:    / @shankgym   Save 30% on your next Spartan Race OCR or Trail: OCRKINGS-2026 Free Spartan and Tough Mudder race codes coming, stay tuned!

Hot Tent Snow Camping Stove Burning ASMR

Hot Tent Snow Camping Stove Burning ASMR. Soothing fire burning and smoke blowing on a cold snowy winter day. Perfect adventure while getting away from it all. No talking, gear list below. Thanks for watching, please like and SUBSCRIBE!! FireHiking Hot Tent: https://amzn.to/3PWGVNL Wood Burning Camping Stove: https://amzn.to/3VoyID9 #snowcamping #hottent #snowstorm